Rajma Pulao – a complete protein dish for vegetarians

A combination of rice and beans makes one of the best complete protein options for vegetarians. Between the rice and beans, we get all the essential amino acids, making it a very good source of protein, which is just one of the reasons to love this Rajma Pulao recipe.

A lot of Punjabis consider rajma & rice as one of their favourite Sunday lunches and why not, it is a truly delicious combination where the heartiness of the mildly spiced dal combines with steamed rice to make a perfect mouthful! My Rajma pulao is inspired from the Rajma-Chawal, but a much simpler (almost) one-pot version of the same.

Time Saver Tip:

Cook rajma and save it in the fridge in an airtight container, and this one-pot Rajma Pulao will take you all of 15 minutes in the pressure cooker for a quick weekday lunch or dinner.

A few tips on how to make a good rajma pulao:

Choose the smallest variety of Rajma you can get. I prefer the Jammu Rajma.

Pre-cooking the rajma before cooking it with the rice ensures that the rice does not get overcooked.

Use freshly prepared garlic paste for maximum flavour.

If you don’t use a pressure cooker, use canned beans. Drain the liquid, rinse off the beans and proceed with the recipe. Pulao can be prepared in a pan with a lid using the absorption method of cooking rice.

Soak the dry rajma overnight or for 8 hours in plenty of water. Drain the water and place the rehydrated beans in a small pressure cooker with 2 cups water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and 5 minutes on sim. When the pressure subsides, open the cooker, drain the cooked rajma and keep aside. The rajma should be cooked thoroughly yet hold its shape.

Peel and coarsely mash the garlic with a mortar-pestle. Peel and slice the onions. Slice off the root part of the spring onions and discard. Slice the white and green portion thinly and keep aside.